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Tant: Journalists are authors of America's history

published Saturday, July 27, 2013

When a widely read journalist dies, a little piece of America also dies. America lost two great newspaper scribes earlier this month, both at the advanced age of 92. Guy Friddell and Helen Thomas were longtime practitioners of their craft who wrote thousands of articles and entertained, informed and sometimes angered generations of readers.

Friddell, who died July 19, had a lengthy career as a newspaper columnist in Virginia, writing for newspapers in Norfolk and Richmond. He was well-known as a writer for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, a paper which had the distinction of being one of the few American newspapers to give front-page coverage to the Wright Brothers when the duo made the first airplane flight in 1903.

Friddell didn’t go back that far, but he was a columnist in Virginia for 60 years. His topics ranged from family life to nature to politics and he was often able to insinuate himself into national political conventions even without press credentials. His obituary in the newspaper that he loved described him as “literary, lyrical and uncompromisingly liberal.”

Columnist Herb Caen was the newspaper voice of San Francisco, Mike Royko was the dean of Chicago newspapermen, and caustic, controversial columnist H.L. Mencken was called “the sage of Baltimore.” Guy Friddell, though not a household name as a writer, was a voice for his many readers in Virginia who will miss the old scribe’s wise, warm and witty work.

Helen Thomas, who died July 20, was known by millions of readers and television viewers as the woman with the prime seat in the front row of presidential press conferences from the time of President John F. Kennedy to the time of President Barack Obama. Her career in the news business spanned an amazing 70 years, beginning with her early work in radio and newspaper journalism in 1943. She worked for United Press International and the Hearst newspapers before retiring in 2010 after she offended some liberals and conservatives in the media when she fumed that the Israelis should “get the hell out of Palestine.” Her remarks against Israel touched a third rail of American foreign policy, and “talking head” commentators on both sides of the political aisle skewered her for breaking the liberal/conservative taboo against criticizing Israel.

Writing in USA Today on July 22, reporter Owen Ullmann said, “Despite that controversy, Helen’s legacy cannot be denied. She blazed a trail by giving voice to those who could not speak to power.” The reporter also called her a “bipartisan gadfly” who fired tough questions at presidents of both political parties during her long stint with the White House press corps. She was an ardent opponent of the American invasion of Iraq. As she wrote in The Nation magazine in 2006, “It is past time for reporters to forget the party line, ask the tough questions and let the chips fall where they may.”

President Obama said on the day of her death, “Helen was a true pioneer, opening doors and breaking down barriers for generations of women in journalism. She never failed to keep presidents — myself included — on their toes.” During her long life as a journalist, Thomas showed why the press is needed as a watchdog, not a lap dog.

Guy Friddell and Helen Thomas were much-needed scribes who could warm the hearts of readers or get politicians hot under their collars. They both showed what French writer Alexis de Tocqueville meant more than two centuries ago when he wrote, “The only authors whom I acknowledge as American are the journalists. They, indeed, are not great writers, but they speak the language of their countrymen, and make themselves heard by them.”

• Ed Tant has been an Athens columnist since 1974.For more, see his website, www.edtant.com.

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